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Poll: Most Coloradans Think Pot Law Hurts State’s Image

A man smokes a marijuana cigarrette in Montevideo on December 7, 2012. Lawmakers in Uruguay are studying a bill to legalize the cultivation of marijuana and allow limited personal consumption of it -- which if passed, will have authorities controlling its quality and the amount used. With the bill, which is supported by President Jose Mujica, the government wants to end drug-related violent crime which in recent years has emerged for the first time in this sleepy nation sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil. AFP PHOTO/Pablo PORCIUNCULA (Photo credit should read PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/Getty Images)

DENVER — Colorado voters still support the state law that legalized recreational marijuana, but most believe it is hurting the image of the state, according to a new poll released Monday.

The Quinnipiac University Poll found that 51 percent of voters overall believe the measure is bad for the state’s reputation, while 38 percent see it as a net positive. Among voters 18 to 29, 57 percent say legal marijuana is good for the state’s image. Among voters older than 65, 67 percent say it’s bad.

Overall 58 percent of people surveyed still strongly support the law passed in 2012, the poll found.

On Jan. 1, Colorado became the first state in the nation to allow legal retail sales of recreational marijuana. Washington state, where voters also legalized the drug in 2012, is expected to launch its marketplace in the coming months.

The poll also found that 10 percent of Colorado have used marijuana since Jan. 1, and 51 percent have sampled the drug previously.

Voters support how Gov. John Hickenlooper — a Democrat who opposed legalization — has implemented the measure.

Seventy-three percent of voters said they have no problem with a neighbor growing a few marijuana plants, but 81 percent oppose changing the law to allow people to grow more than 12 plants. And more than four-fifths say they would not be comfortable riding in a car with someone who just consumed a moderate amount of marijuana.

The poll of 1,139 registered voters was taken from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. It has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.